Dynamo-electric machine component core winding methods and apparatus

ABSTRACT

The present invention concerns improved methods and apparatus for forming undulated wire coils that are placed into the cores of dynamo electric machine components. In particular, the invention concerns improved methods and apparatus for controlling the direction of deposit (along the axis about which the coil is wound) for the turns of a wire coil and for positioning the leads of the coil. This is accomplished by forming a series of wire coils using a programmable apparatus that controls a sequence of directions (along the coil axis) in which the wire turns are deposited, as well as positions of the final leads. The same methods and apparatus may also be used to form continuously wound wire portions.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from U.S. provisional application No.60/334,472, filed Nov. 16, 2001, U.S. provisional application No.60/333,498, filed Nov. 28, 2001, and U.S. non-provisional application,filed Nov. 12, 2002, application No. unknown, which are herebyincorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention concerns improved methods and apparatus forforming undulated wire coils that are placed into the cores of dynamoelectric machine components. In particular, the invention concernsimproved methods and apparatus for controlling the direction of depositfor the turns of a wire coil and for positioning the leads of the coil.“Direction of deposit” refers to the direction that winding proceedsalong the axis about which the coil is wound. “Direction of deposit”does not refer to whether wire is deposited going clockwise orcounter-clockwise about the just-mentioned axis. Rather, “direction ofdeposit” refers to which direction along (i.e., substantially parallelto) the just-mentioned axis successive turns of wire are deposited aswinding proceeds. The general background of the invention is provided inBarrera U.S. Pat. No. 5,881,778, and Bonnacorsi et al. U.S. Pat. No.6,386,243, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in theirentireties.

Selective positioning of wire leads in a coil is generally done toprotect the leads from interfering with operation and becoming damaged.For example, the leads may be selectively positioned away from a portionof the core that will be adjacent to a relatively moving component inthe finished and operating dynamo-electric machine. According to theprior art, such positioning is generally achieved by controlling thefinal lead of the wire to produce a desired position for the lead whenplaced within the coil. Conventionally, a single layer of coils placedat the radially innermost portion of the core may have selectivelypositioned wire leads that are placed away from the center of the core.

One method for reducing the opportunity for interference from wire leadsis to reduce their frequency within the core. To this end, multiple wirecoil portions may be formed from a continuous wire segment that has onlya single initial lead and a single final lead. In the prior art, eachcoil portion is formed by winding wire turns in a single direction ofdeposit, with the resulting coil having an initial lead and a final leadat radially opposite locations when placed on the core. This arrangementof the wire leads in the continuous wire portions produces similarinterference problems as in the independent wire coils, where the wireleads are exposed to the radially inner aperture and the radially outercontour of the core.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention toprovide improved methods and apparatus for controlling the direction ofdeposit for wire turns in a sequence of wire coils or continuous coilportions. (Again, as stated earlier, “direction of deposit” refers tothe direction that winding proceeds along the axis about which the coilis wound. This axis is sometimes referred to as the “coil axis. ”) It isa further object of the present invention to provide improved methodsand apparatus for selectively positioning the wire leads of the same.

This and other objects are accomplished by forming a series of wirecoils or continuous coil portions using a programmable apparatus thatcontrols a sequence of directions along the coil axis in which the wireturns are to be deposited, as well as a corresponding sequence ofpositions for the final wire leads.

In the illustrative embodiment, the apparatus grips an initial lead ofthe first wire coil in a sequence at a first location on the formingstructure. The wire turns of the first coil are deposited in a directionalong the coil axis away from the initial lead. After depositing thefinal turn of the first coil, the final wire lead is returned to aposition along the coil axis corresponding to the initial wire turnadjacent to the initial lead. Similarly, an initial lead of the finalcoil in the sequence may be gripped at a second location opposite to thefirst location on the forming structure. In the final coil, the wireturns are deposited in a direction along the coil axis opposite the wireturns of the first coil toward the first position. The series of wirecoils resulting from this programmed forming process has wire leads thatare each surrounded by the bridge portions of adjacent coils. (The“bridge portions” of coils are the portions that remain outside the coreat the axial ends of the core.) The leads are thereby protected fromboth the radially inner aperture and the radially outer contour of thecore.

Similarly, the illustrative apparatus may be used to form continuouscoil portions from a continuously wound wire. A first coil portion maybe formed on the forming structure with the wire turns deposited in afirst direction along the coil axis. The first coil portion may then beremoved from the forming structure and another coil portion may beformed with the wire turns deposited in a second opposite directionalong the coil axis. The final lead may be selectively positioned at alevel (i.e., location along the coil axis) corresponding to any of thewire turns in the second coil portion. The resulting continuous wireportions have only one initial lead and one final lead, where at leastthe initial lead is positioned away from the inner aperture of the coreon which the wire is ultimately deposited.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The advantages of the invention will be apparent upon consideration ofthe following detailed description, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which like reference characters refer to likeparts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a representative portion of a componentcore 10 showing the positions of the wire leads accomplished inaccordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of portions of an illustrative embodiment ofapparatus in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 3 is similar to FIG. 2 and shows the formation of a wire coil bygripping an initial lead with upper gripper 27 and winding wire turns 1to 6 progressively away from the initial lead along the coil axis inaccordance with the invention;

FIG. 4 is again similar to FIG. 2 and shows a later stage in theoperation following the formation of wire turn 6 in FIG. 3 in which thefinal lead is positioned adjacent the initial lead along the coil axisin accordance with the invention;

FIG. 5 is again similar to FIG. 2 and shows the initial lead of a wirebeing gripped with lower gripper 28 at an opposite end of the formingstructure in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 6 is again similar to FIG. 2 and shows an operational sequence inwhich the wire coil is being formed by depositing wire turns 1 to 6 in adirection along the coil axis opposite to the direction of deposit shownin FIGS. 3 and 4 in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 7 is again similar to FIG. 2 and shows gripping of the initial leadwith lower gripper 28 before the winding of wire turns in direction 23′along the coil axis in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 8 is again similar to FIG. 2 and shows the an operational sequencein which the wire turns 1-6 have been deposited in direction 23′ (FIG.7) and the final lead has been moved in direction 23″ along the coilaxis to a position adjacent the initial lead in accordance with theinvention;

FIG. 9 shows a representative portion of a component core having twocontinuous coil portions with wire leads positioned in accordance withthe invention;

FIG. 10 is again similar to FIG. 2 and shows the illustrative apparatusdepositing the wire turns of the first coil portion in direction 23″along the coil axis in accordance with the invention; and

FIG. 11 is again similar to FIG. 2 and shows the illustrative apparatus,after the removal of the first coil portion (as in FIG. 10) from theforming structure, depositing the wire turns of the second coil portionin opposite direction 23′ along the coil axis to achieve advantageouslead positioning in accordance with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows a component core with a plurality of wire coils placedwithin. With reference to radially innermost coil 11, initial lead 11 aand final lead 11 b have bridge portion 11 c between themselves andopening 10′ of the core in directions that are radial of core 10. Middlecoil 12 may have initial lead 12 a and final lead 12 b positioned in thetraditional manner with initial lead 12 a and final lead 12 b on eitherside of bridge portion 12 c in directions that are radial of core 10,and with initial lead 12 a more radially internal towards opening 10′than final lead 12 b.

With respect to radially outermost coil 13, initial lead 13 a and finallead 13 b have bridge portion 13 c between themselves and the externalcontour 10″ of the component core in directions that are radial of core10. The existence of bridge portion 13 c between leads 13 a and 13 b andthe external contour 10″ of the core makes leads 13 a and 13 b lesssubject to the undesirable effect of being bent outwards beyond theexternal contour of the core.

FIG. 2 shows wire nozzle 20, feed device 21, and cutters 22, all ofwhich may be mounted on support plate 23 according to the invention.Support plate 23 may be capable of translating in upward direction 23′and downward direction 23″. There are two (opposite) directions alongthe axis of a coil that will be wound on the forming structure(including forming member 26) as will be described below. Both of thesedirections are parallel to vertical axis 24, which may be the rotationalaxis of the support head (not shown) that operates to form the polygonaland undulated configurations of the coils. Axis 24 may be thought of asthe above-mentioned coil axis.

Position controlled motor unit 25 may be used to rotate a screw/bushassembly 25′ that drives the translation of support plate 23 indirections 23′ and 23″. The motion of support plate 23 in directions 23′and 23″ may be programmable through controlled motor unit 25 to fulfillrequired position appointments in time and as a function of therotational angular position of the support head about axis 24. There maybe controlled synchronization between the rotation of the support headand the translation of slide 23 in directions 23′ and 23″.

According to the present invention, forming member 26, which may be oneof the forming members assembled in an annular array about axis 24 ofthe before-mentioned support head, may be provided with grippers 27 and28 for holding the initial leads of the coils (e.g., leads 11 a , 12 a ,and 13 a shown in FIG. 1). Gripper 27 is located in upper plane L1 ofthe forming member, and gripper 28 is located in lower plane L2 of theforming member. Grippers 27 and 28 may be capable of gripping theinitial lead fed from wire nozzle 20, rotating during rotation of thesupport head to bring the initial lead tangent to a side of thepolygonal wire configuration defined by the annular array of formingmembers 26, and rotating during the formation of the undulatedconfiguration.

FIGS. 3-8 show the illustrative apparatus in various operational stagesfor winding each of the series of coils 11, 12, and 13 shown in FIG. 1.It should be mentioned that all of these FIGS., and indeed all of theFIGS. herein that are like FIG. 2, are somewhat schematic. Thus, theseFIGS. do not accurately reflect the fact that motor unit 25 is typicallystationary in the vertical direction relative to forming members 26. Inother words, these FIGS. do not accurately show that the verticalspacing between elements 23 and 25 changes as motor unit 25 operates. Itshould also be mentioned that although the following discussion tends toimply that coils 11-13 are wound in that order, the opposite order (13first, then 12, then 11) can be used instead, if desired. The order inwhich the coils are wound can depend on the nature of the apparatus usedto subsequently insert the coils in core 10. If that apparatus iscapable of inserting all three coils substantially simultaneously, thenthe coils can be wound in the order 11, 12, 13. But if the insertionapparatus is of the type that inserts each coil as it is wound, then thecoils are typically wound in the order 13, 12, 11.

FIG. 3 shows coil 11 being started by gripping initial lead 11 a withgripper 27. Wire turns 1 to 6 of coil 11 may then be progressivelyformed according to an order in time represented by the numbering 1 to 6(i.e., starting from turn number 1 and gradually moving down along tocoil axis to end with turn number 6).

As shown in FIG. 3, the formation of wire turns 1 to 6 may be obtainedby rotating the support head (including forming members 26), afterinitial lead 11 a has been gripped by gripper 27, to draw wire fromnozzle 20. In FIG. 3, gripper 27 is shown rotated to bring initial lead11 a tangent to a side of the polygonal configuration of the wire coilformed by rotation of the support head around axis 24. The wire turns 1to 6 are consecutively drawn onto forming members 26 to form thepolygonal shape that is required before forming the wire coil into theundulated configuration. During rotation of the support head to form thewire turns into the polygonal configuration, slide 23 is progressivelymoved in downward direction 23″ along the coil axis to position turns 1to 6 along forming members 26. In other words, this gradual, relativedownward movement of slide 23 causes the wire to be deposited on formingmembers 26 in a vertically oriented helix (albeit a helix that has apolygonal annular shape). The successive turns of the wire in this helixare approximately in respective planes that are parallel to one anotherand approximately perpendicular to vertical axis 24 (the coil axis).

To summarize the foregoing again, the result of moving slide 23 in themanner described above is to progressively align wire nozzle 20 withpredetermined positions distributed vertically along forming members 26and consequently to achieve positioning of the wire turns in thepredetermined vertically distributed positions. The wire turns shouldresult according to the formation shown in FIG. 3, where the turns arepositioned in a descending order vertically along forming members 26without surmounting (i.e., radially over-lapping) each other. In thisway, later insertion of the coil into the slots of the core will beachieved more smoothly and with less risk of jamming that may be causedby wire turns that surmount each other, and that do not run properlywithin the predefined core slots.

To achieve the wire turn formation shown in FIG. 3, slide 23 may bemoved in downward direction 23″ along the coil axis in incrementssubstantially equal to the diameter of the wire used to form the turns.If multiple wires are drawn simultaneously from wire nozzle 20 to formthe coils and the leads, slide 23 may be moved in downward direction 23″in increments that are a corresponding multiple of the wire diameter.The incremental movements of slide 23 may be effected as a predeterminedfunction of the angular rotation of the support head.

By positioning the wire turns using the movement of slide 23, formingmembers 26 do not require the surface inclination traditionally used toshift the wound turns downward as new wire is drawn onto the formingmembers by rotation of the support head.

FIG. 4 shows the apparatus at a time following the formation of the wireturns shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 4 shows the positioning of final lead 11 bafter turn 6 is wound onto forming members 26. Particularly, slide 23 ismoved upwards in direction 23′ along the coil axis to level L3, justbelow level L1, in order to satisfy the radial position assignment shownin FIG. 1 when the coil is placed within the core. After the instantshown in FIG. 4, final lead 11 b may be cut and the undulatedconfiguration may be formed.

The upward movement of slide 23 in direction 23″, as shown in FIG. 4,should take place during a sufficient portion of the support headrotation so that the ascent of slide 23 to reach level L3 produces aclimbing wire that gradually crosses the turns already formed on formingmembers 26. This will avoid an excessive surmount of the climbing wireover turns 1 to 6 in a local angular area around the coil, therebyenabling smoother insertion of the coil into the core later.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show the illustrative apparatus during operationalsequences for winding coil 12 and for positioning initial lead 12 a andfinal lead 12 b into the radial positions assigned to them in FIG. 1. Inthis case, initial lead 12 a is gripped by lower gripper 28 and slide 23thereafter gradually moves in upward direction 23′ along the coil axisto achieve the ascending order of turns 1 to 6 shown in FIG. 6. Verticaltranslation of slide 23 after the formation of the turns is notnecessary because final lead 12 b is formed at level L3 to achieve theposition requirement shown in FIG. 1.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show the illustrative apparatus during operationalsequences for winding coil 13 and for positioning initial lead 13 a andfinal lead 13 b . In this case, initial lead 13 a is gripped by lowergripper 28, and slide 23 thereafter gradually moves in upward direction23′ along the coil axis to achieve the vertically ascending order ofturns 1 to 6 shown in FIG. 8. Following the formation of turn 6, slide23 is moved in downward direction 23″ along the coil axis to positionfinal lead 13 b at level L4 just above level L2 of gripper 28. In thisway, initial lead 12 a and final lead 12 b will be properly positionedin the position assignments shown in FIG. 1. Similar to the formationprocess of coil 11, the movement of slide 23 to position final lead 13 bshould occur as an appropriate function of the support head rotation soas to allow the descending wire to cross the previously formed turns 1to 6 along a sufficiently ample angular distance around the coil.

In view of the foregoing, a series of coils (e.g., coils 11, 12, and 13)are formed in sequence by programmable apparatus that controls theposition appointments of vertically translating slide 23 and rotatingforming members 26. The apparatus controls the vertical positioning ofthe wire turns and of the wire leads for each coil being formed. Theresulting series of coils has each initial and final lead surrounded bythe bridge portions (e.g., 11 c , 12 c , 13 c ) of adjacent wire coilswhen placed into the core. Further, the wire leads in the series ofcoils are exposed to neither the radially inner opening nor the radiallyouter contour of the core.

Another approach to reducing the opportunity for interference from wireleads is to reduce their frequency in the core. One such approach usesmultiple coil portions formed from a continuous wire, where theresulting continuous coil portions have only a single initial lead and asingle final lead. A method for forming two phase-shifted, continuoushalf-coils is discussed in before-mentioned and incorporated BarreraU.S. Pat. No. 5,881,778.

FIG. 9 shows a component core 10 with illustrative half coils placedtherein that resulted from an exemplary method of the invention. Thehalf coils of other phases that would be present in core 10 have beenomitted for sake of clarity. As shown in FIG. 9, half coils 90′ and 90″are joined by connection loop 91 and has initial lead 90 a at thebeginning of half coil 90′, and final lead 90 b at the end of half coil90″. Initial lead 90 a and final lead 90 b are positioned so thatbridging portions 90′c and 90″c act as barriers toward radially inneropening 10′ for the same reasons relating to the positioning of leads 11a and 11 b in FIG. 1. Note that in FIG. 9, loop 91 is shown as includingtwo wires (because in this illustrative example the windings have beenmade by depositing two wires simultaneously, side by side, from a singlewire dispenser). If the windings had instead been made using only asingle wire emanating from the wire dispenser, loop 91 would only be asingle wire.

FIGS. 10 and 11 show the illustrative apparatus during operationalstages for winding half coils 90′ and 90″. With reference to FIG. 10,half coil 90′ is first wound by gripping initial lead 90 a with uppergripper 27 and thereafter gradually moving slide 23 in downwarddirections 23″ along the coil axis during rotation of the support head.This process forms successive wire turns 1 to 4 as shown in FIG. 10. Asshown in FIG. 11, half coil 90′ is stripped from forming members 26 andplaced on an insertion tool (not shown) aligned below the support headafter being formed into the undulated configuration. In this situation,the final uncut lead 91 of half coil 90′ would extend to the wirenozzle. Uncut lead 91 is intercepted by a hook from one of the formingmembers 26 at the start of the opposite rotation of the support head toform second half coil 90″. The uncut lead 91 shown in FIG. 11 is thendeformed to follow the undulated form of the half coils.

As the support head rotates in the opposite direction to form secondhalf coil 90″, slide 23 may be gradually moved in upward direction 23′along the coil axis to achieve the ascending order of turns 1 to 4 shownin FIG. 11. After turn 4 has been formed, final lead 90 b can be drawnand cut at level L3 corresponding to turn 4, or at another levelcorresponding to one of the other wire turns (e.g., turns 1-3), toachieve positioning of the final lead as shown in FIG. 9. It may beadvantageous to position final lead 90 b at a level corresponding to oneof the other turns to avoid its exposure to the radially outer contourwhen placed within core 10.

To summarize what is illustrated, for example, by FIGS. 9-11, a pair ofhalf-coils 90′ and 90″ can be wound using wire that emanates from wiredispenser 20. The wire is continuous between the half-coils. Therespective half-coils are intended for insertion in a hollow annulardynamo-electric machine core 10 with respective different angularregistrations relative to a circumference of the core. A first pluralityof substantially planar turns of wire 1-4 are wound on forming structure26 starting from an initial lead 90 a to produce the first half-coil 90′as shown in FIG. 10. The planes of these wire turns are perpendicular tothe paper on which FIG. 10 is drawn. These planes are also parallel tothe top and bottom edges of that paper. A second plurality ofsubstantially planar turns of wire 1-4 are subsequently wound on theforming structure 26 ending with a final lead 90 b to produce the secondhalf-coil as shown in FIG. 11. The planes of these wire turns areoriented similarly to the planes mentioned earlier in this paragraph. Atleast one of the initial and final leads 90 a and 90 b is displaced outof the plane of the turn of wire from which that lead extends. In theparticular example described in connection with FIGS. 9-11, the finallead 90 b is displaced out of the plane of final turn 4 in FIG. 11(e.g., by moving wire dispenser 20 down near the end of and/or afterwinding final turn 4 in FIG. 11). However, in another situation, initiallead 90 a could be displaced more out of the plane of initial turn 1 inFIG. 10 (e.g., by moving wire dispenser 20 down farther before windingturn 1 in FIG. 10, and possibly also moving the wire dispenser to windsubsequent turns 2-4 from the bottom up rather than from the top down asshown in FIG. 10).

The lead displacement mentioned above can be produced by causingrelative movement between the wire dispenser 20 and the formingstructure 26 substantially perpendicular to the planes of the turns ofwire mentioned in the preceding paragraph. A typical purpose for thelead displacement is to place any lead that is displaced in a positionthat results in that lead being at a desired location radially of core10 when the half-coils are inserted in the core. Typically, the desiredlocation is more centrally located between the inner and outercircumferences 10′ and 10″ of the core than the displaced lead wouldhave been if it were not displaced in accordance with this invention.

Typically, each of the half-coils is substantially helical on theforming structure 26, except to the extent that results from thedisplacing of at least one of leads 90 a and 90 b . The first half-coil90′ is typically removed from the forming structure 26 (e.g., as shownin FIG. 11) prior to winding the second half-coil 90″ on the formingstructure. The first half-coil 90′ may be wound in a first direction(e.g., clockwise) around the forming structure 26, and the secondhalf-coil 90″ may be wound in an opposite second direction (e.g.,counter-clockwise) around the forming structure. A so-called reversalloop may be formed in the wire 91 extending between the first and secondhalf-coils.

It should be understood that using the method and apparatus of theinvention, it is contemplated that any number of wire coils andcontinuous coil portions may be formed in sequence. For example, allcontinuous coil portions to be placed within a component core may beformed in sequence from a continuous wire. Similarly, it is within thescope of the invention for wire coils or continuous coil portions of asequence to be formed in parallel, or substantially simultaneously, onmultiple forming platforms.

It should also be understood that using the methods and apparatus of theinvention for controlling the motion of the feeding and formingapparatus relative to each other, a sequence of coils or continuous coilportions may be formed that has any combination of wire depositdirections and lead position arrangements.

It is contemplated that forming member 26, shown herein as havinggrippers 27 and 28, may have only one gripper configured to bepositioned at an appropriate level along the coil axis for forming theinitial lead.

It is also contemplated that the final lead may be formed in any angularplane around axis 24.

Thus, improved systems and methods for forming wire coils andpositioning wire leads are provided. One skilled in the art willappreciate that the present invention can be practiced by other than thedescribed embodiment, which is presented for the purpose of illustrationand not of limitation. For example, although the foregoing descriptionassumes that the forming head (of forming members 26) rotates to drawwire from the wire supply 20, the forming head could be stationary andwire supply 20 could rotate in an orbit around the forming head. And,although the foregoing descriptions assumes that the wire supply 20translates vertically in relation to the stationary forming head, thewire supply 20 could be stationary and the forming head could translatevertically in relation to the forming head. Thus references herein andin the appended claims to rotation of the forming head will beunderstood to mean relative rotation of the forming head and the wiresupply, and reference to the translation of the wire supply will beunderstood to mean relative translation of the forming head and the wiresupply.

1. Apparatus for forming a multi-coil winding for a dynamo-electricmachine component core, the apparatus comprising: gripper structure forpositioning an initial lead of at least one wire; forming structureconfigured to sequentially form each of a first coil portion and asecond coil portion by winding the at least one wire into wire turnsabout a coil axis, successive ones of the wire turns being positioned inrespective, successive, substantially parallel planes; and wire feedingmechanism configured to translate substantially perpendicularly to saidparallel planes to position the wire turns, wherein the feedingmechanism translates in a first direction along the coil axis away fromthe initial lead to form the first coil portion and translates in anopposite second direction along the coil axis to form the second coilportion.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the feeding mechanism isfurther configured to position a final lead of the at least one wireafter winding a final turn of the second coil portion.
 3. The apparatusof claim 1 wherein the feeding mechanism is further configured toposition a final lead of the at least one wire, after winding a finalturn of the second coil portion, away from a portion of the core exposedto another component of the dynamo-electric machine.
 4. The apparatus ofclaim 1 further comprising forming mechanism configured to shape each ofthe first and second coil portions into an undulated configurationhaving a plurality of radial lobes alternated with hollows positioned inangular intervals around a circumference of each of the coil portions.5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the forming mechanism is furtherconfigured to arrange the second coil portion at a position angularlyshifted relative to the first coil portion, wherein the lobes of thesecond coil portion are positioned at angular positions corresponding tohollows of the first coil portion.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5 whereinthe forming mechanism is further configured to shape a wire portionconnecting the first coil portion with the second coil portion to form aloop following an annular path matching the profile of one lobe of oneof the two coil portions for one part and the profile of a hollow of theother coil portion opposite to the lobe for another part.
 7. A methodfor forming a multi-coil winding for a dynamo-electric machine componentcore, the method comprising: positioning an initial lead of at least onewire; and sequentially forming a first coil portion and a second coilportion by winding the at least one wire into wire turns about a coilaxis, successive ones of the wire turns being positioned in respective,successive, substantially parallel planes, wherein the wire turns arewound away from the initial lead in a first direction substantiallyperpendicular to the parallel planes to form the first coil portion, andwherein the wire turns are wound in an opposite second direction to formthe second coil portion.
 8. The method of claim 7 further comprisingpositioning a final lead of the at least one wire after winding a finalturn of the second coil portion.
 9. The method of claim 7 furthercomprising positioning a final lead of the at least one wire, afterwinding a final turn of the second coil portion, away from a portion ofthe core exposed to another component of the dynamo-electric machine.10. The method of claim 7 wherein forming the first coil portion furthercomprises shaping the first coil portion in an undulated configurationhaving a plurality of radial lobes alternated with hollows positioned inangular intervals around a circumference of the first coil portion. 11.The method of claim 10 wherein forming the second coil portion furthercomprises: shaping the second coil portion in the undulatedconfiguration; and arranging the second coil portion at a positionangularly shifted relative to the first coil portion, wherein the secondcoil portion has lobes at the same angular positions of the hollows ofthe first coil portion.
 12. The method of claim 11 further comprisingshaping a wire portion connecting the first coil portion with the secondcoil portion to form a loop following an annular path matching theprofile of one lobe of one of the two coil portions for one part and theprofile of a hollow of the other coil opposite to the lobe for anotherpart. 13-17. (canceled)
 18. A method of winding a pair of half-coilsusing wire that emanates from a wire dispenser and that is continuousbetween the half-coils, the respective half-coil being intended forinsertion in a dynamo-electric machine core with respective differentangular registrations relative to a circumference of the core,comprising: winding a first plurality of substantially planar turns ofwire on a forming structure starting from an initial lead to produce afirst of the half-coils; winding a second plurality of substantiallyplanar turns of wire on the forming structure ending with a final leadto produce a second of the half-coils; and displacing at least one ofthe initial and final leads out of the plane of the turn of wire fromwhich that lead extends.
 19. The method defined in claim 18 wherein thedisplacing comprises: causing relative movement between the wiredispenser and the forming structure substantially perpendicular to theplane of a turn of wire on the forming structure.
 20. The method definedin claim 18 wherein the displacing leaves the lead that is displaced ina position that results in that lead being at a desired locationradially of the core when the half-coils are inserted in the core. 21.The method defined in claim 20 wherein the desired location is morecentrally located between inner and outer circumferences of the corethan the displaced lead would be if it were not displaced.
 22. Themethod defined in claim 18 wherein each of the half-coils issubstantially helical on the forming structure, except to the extentthat results from the displacing of at least one of the leads.
 23. Themethod defined in claim 18 further comprising: removing the firsthalf-coil from the forming structure prior to winding the secondhalf-coil on the forming structure.
 24. (canceled)
 25. The methoddefined in claim 18 further comprising: forming a reversal loop in thewire extending between the first and second half-coils. 26-27.(canceled)